By Philip Tengzu
Wa, (UW/R), April 02, GNA – Alhaji Usman Mohammed Kanihi, the Upper West Regional Chief Imam, has called on the Muslim community in Ghana to consolidate the bond of peace and peaceful co-existence, which is a pre-requisite for social and economic development.
He said Muslims and Christians, for instance, have had decades of peaceful co-existence in the Upper West Region, which was necessary to preserve and transmit that peaceful co-existence to future generations.
Alhaji Kanihi said this in a statement copied the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Wa to mark the end of the Holy month of Ramadan and urged Muslims to use the season to foster unity, forgiveness and reconciliation.
He observed that both Muslims and Christian worshiped one God but through different approaches, stressing the need to improve those similarities that united them while overcoming their differences that could tear them apart.
“It has become necessary for every one of us to show love and compassion to the needy members of society so that they will be well incorporated in society with a sense of belongingness and inclusivity”, he explained.
The statement indicated that the “Regional Chief Imam’s Educational Endowment Fund” was, therefore, to support the brilliant but needy students to pursue demand driven courses of study at the tertiary institutions to become useful and acceptable members of the society in future.
It commended President John Dramani Mahama for his swift response to the plight of Muslims in Ghana in connection with the sky rocketing hajj fares, which ruined Muslims for many years now.”
The Regional Chief Imam said the reduction of the hajj fares would enable many Muslims in the country to accomplish their dream ambitions of performing hajj within their financial abilities.
The statement also assured the President and the Upper West Regional Minister of the unwavering support and co-operation of the Muslim Ummah in the region in their efforts to develop the region.
In the same vein, the Catholic Diocese of Wa called for unity and peaceful co-existence between people of different religious beliefs and practices in the region to promote development.
It observed that Christians and Muslims in the region had over the years co-existed in unity and respect for each other’s beliefs, which were key values of the Christian and Islamic religions and needed to be sustained.
Addressing a congregation of Muslims on behalf of the Bishop of Wa during the Eid-ul-Fitr prayers in Wa, Reverend Father, Dr. Aloysius Nuolabong of the Catholic Diocese of Wa emphasised the importance of people prioritising peace and unity regardless of their religious affiliations.
GNA
CAE/KOA